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Who is a Agricultural Technician?
Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace ~ May Sarton
An Agricultural Technician is a professional who performs tests, and experiments on crops and animals, and provides technical support to the Agricultural Scientists in researching, producing, servicing and marketing tasks. He or she makes sure that the quality of the food and animal products is high by conducting various tests on plant and animal specimens and analysing the samples.
An Individual in a career as an Agricultural Technician is responsible for increasing the crop yield and testing the effects of fertilisers or insecticides. He or she works closely with plants and animals to check their health and safety increasing production. An Agricultural Technician evaluates the effects of the environment on crops and finds solutions to improve it.
Quick Facts for Agricultural Technician
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Industry
Agriculture
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Suitable for
Male, Female
Men, women, and others can choose a career as agricultural technicians. A career as agricultural technicians supports every gender. Both men and women interested in agriculture or farming can choose the career as agricultural technicians. Over time, developing your skills and knowledge, you will grow more confident irrespective of your gender.
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Any special needs
Yes
Everyone, including those with physical disabilities, is appropriate for the career as agricultural technicians. Any physical condition which would cause agricultural technicians to be a hazard to themselves or to others will create a difficult situation. However, if individuals are passionate and possess required skills and physical disabilities will not be a hindrance in the work, they can opt this career.
Table of Contents for Agricultural Technician
What is the role of Agricultural Technician?
The agricultural technician's job involves operating greenhouses, improving plant health, maintaining research and field equipment, and applying chemicals. He or she is often required to operate motorised equipment and have knowledge of farming and land preparation procedures. The role of an Agricultural technician is to sterilise and clean lab equipment used in experiments.
The agricultural technician's roles and responsibilities are also assisting with birthing animals and recording animal food consumption. He or she also takes care of transporting vegetables and poultry products. An agricultural technician is also required to conduct presentations about agriculture or the findings of experiments and tests.
Prepare Samples and Operates Machinery
Agricultural technicians are required to receive and prepare laboratory samples for analysis, following proper protocols in order to ensure that they will be stored, prepared, and disposed of efficiently and effectively. The Agricultural technicians operate farm machinery including tractors, plows, mowers, combines, balers, sprayers, earth moving equipment, and trucks.
Record and collect data
An Agricultural Technician requires to record data pertaining to experimentation, research, and animal care and collect samples from crops or animals to perform tests. In addition to this, a career as an agricultural technician is required to provide food and water to livestock and laboratory animals and record details of their food consumption.
Operate laboratory
The Agricultural Technician roles and responsibilities include operating laboratory equipment such as spectrometers, nitrogen determination apparatus, air samplers, centrifuges, and PH meters to perform tests. He or she is also required to measure or weigh ingredients used in testing such as animal feed.
Planting and farming work
Agricultural technicians are often involved in the planting of seeds in specified areas, after which there is a count to determine what percentage of the seeds have germinated. Planting and farming are often a part of some survey or research work, which can be carried out for various purposes.
Supervision
Using agricultural technology, the agricultural technicians are required to supervise pest or weed control operations including locating and identifying pests or weeds, selecting chemicals and application methods, a scheduling application, and training operators.
Examine specimens
The role of an agricultural technician is to examine animals and specimens to determine the presence of diseases or other problems. He or she also performs general nursery duties such as propagating standard varieties of plant materials, collecting and germinating seeds, maintaining cuttings of plants and controlling environmental conditions.
Types of a Agricultural Technician
Below we have discussed the types of agriculture technicians or career options related to it with their job descriptions.
Agriculture Officer: The agricultural officer is the primary person who is liable for spreading all of the expertise, innovation, and technologies to the farmers. Agriculture officers translate and also transfer the scientific facts about agricultural development, farming and agronomy which are discovered by the scientists in the research institutes.
Quality Assurance Officer: To reach regulatory body law, a quality assurance officer is accountable for the policy, approach, and test scientific method. He or she is responsible for creating, incorporating, and sustaining the quality assurance systems of the entity, and to guarantee to follow the compliance that is made by the authority with the specific quality standards.
Farm Manager: Farm managers focus on the production of poultry, dairy, or crops. They introduce optimum output techniques, look after farm administration, and also maintain ventures related to farming. The Farm managers guarantee the proper functioning of a farm or estate by monitoring activities and strong business strategies.
Research Engineer: The Research Engineer performs research work for the production of agricultural machinery, and equipment, developing and maintaining the materials produced in a research laboratory. He or she also designs prototypes of instruments to increase the production of the items.
Process Manager: The Process Manager is responsible for managing, evaluating, and developing agricultural systems. The process manager has to make sure that agricultural activities are productive and also make modifications whenever required.
Purchase Manager: Purchase managers create product purchasing strategies that are essential to boost productivity and supervise. They supervise the purchasing team in sourcing providers and purchasing products, equipment, and facilities. The Purchase managers preserve a database of suppliers, purchase documents, and related information for future reference.
Self-Employment: An agricultural technician can also be self-employed and act as an entrepreneur. Agronomists may choose this option because they have opportunities to grow crops on their land and can make more profit by using new technologies and essential products.
What is the workplace/work environment of Agricultural Technician like?
Most of the time the work environment for an agricultural technician is indoors in labs conducting research, tests and experiments. He or she is also required to work in the fields to collect the samples and supervise the plants and animals and for other such activities.
Does Agricultural Technician require travelling?
Likely
Usually, agricultural technicians are required to work from their respective labs or fields itself. However, plant breeding technicians sometimes may be required to travel in order to meet particular work requirements like client meetings, and many more. Also, agricultural technology requires them to perform site inspections in order to conduct research or prepare a plan for certain projects which involves travelling.
Time Pressure
Not Likely
The work pressure for agricultural technicians is considered moderate. A career as agricultural technicians usually works indoors in labs conducting research and preparing chemicals for a particular project field and outdoors as well. They are usually required to work at least 40 hours per week.
How to become a Agricultural Technician?
Steps to become a Agricultural Technician
An Agricultural Technician is a professional who assists with agricultural operations to guarantee the quality of food and animal products. If you are someone interested in working in the agricultural and technical field then this career is one of the best options for you.Below we have given step-by-step guidance on how to become an Agricultural Technician in India.
What are the skills and qualities required to become a/an Agricultural Technician?
When it comes to how to become an agricultural technician in India, the first thing that an individual should know about is the skills required in this career. Below we have mentioned some of the essential Agricultural Technician skills.
Time Management: An agricultural technician should be skilled in managing one's time as well as of others. In agricultural technology, there are times when the work pressure is high and he or she is required to complete more work in less time, in such cases good time management helps.
Reading Skills: A career as agricultural technicians are required to prepare reports on the basis of research and analysis that they make on different specimens of crops and plants and hence are required to be proficient in understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Science Skills: Agricultural technology could not be tackled unless one knows the whereabouts of science related to it. As an agricultural technician, one is required to have in-depth knowledge of the science behind agriculture and the technology related to it.
Listening: While being at work, one should give full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand what point is being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Equipment Maintenance: Equipment maintenance is one of the most important skills one should learn as an agricultural technician. Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining whether they are working accurately and deciding when and what kind of maintenance is needed is also important.
Active Learning: Active learning involves understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem solving and decision making which is an important asset for employees working in agricultural technology.
Supervisory Skills: Agricultural technicians are required to monitor and assess the performance of themselves, other individuals, and organisations to make improvements or make correct decisions.
Critical Thinking: Management of agricultural technology requires sharp critical thinking skills that involve using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Troubleshooting: Agricultural technicians are responsible for determining the causes of operating errors and decide the appropriate course of action.
Speaking: Agricultural technicians are required to communicate effectively while talking to others to convey information effectively, teach and instruct others how to do something.
Which certifications and internships can be helpful in becoming Agricultural Technician?
We have mentioned below some of the related certification courses that individuals may opt to establish a career as an Agricultural Technician.
Free Agricultural And Food Engineering Courses & Certifications
Free Agriculture Business Management Courses & Certifications
Free Agriculture Nutrition And Food Courses & Certifications
Internship Availability
There are various companies involved in the food sector that offer internships to the students who want to learn the actual work process and gain experience in the field of agricultural technology. The companies such as Intello labs Private Limited, Satyukt Analytics Private Limited, EXcelNow Solutions, and Ample E-Business offer internships to agricultural technology students.
These companies offer the best agricultural technician training for graduates in agriculture technology and some other companies as well. The aim of internship programmes is to give agricultural technology students an idea of what it is like to work at various firms associated with agriculture technology and provide hands-on experience and enhancing their skills.
What is the job outlook for Agricultural Technician?
Career as an agricultural technician will have an upward trend in the near future. As an agricultural technician, one is required to assist agricultural scientists, agronomists, and food technologists in collecting the required information. The job outlook in this profession is quite good. There are plenty of work opportunities in other countries as well, especially European countries.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisations of the United States, agriculture is the largest source of livelihoods in India. 70 percent of its rural households still depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihood,with 82 percent of farmers being small and marginal. Therefore there is a huge scope of an Agricultural Technician career at present and also in the near future.
Frequently Asked Questions for Agricultural Technician
Que. What does an agricultural technologist do?
Ans.Agricultural technicians conduct experiments and research on farms to improve production in crops or plants. They work with scientists in analysing and recording data.
Que. Where do agricultural technicians work?
Ans.Agricultural technicians work in a variety of settings, including laboratories, processing plants, farms and ranches, greenhouses, and offices. A career as agricultural technicians work in processing plants and agricultural settings may face noise from processing and farming machinery, extreme temperatures, and odors from chemicals or animals.
Que. What do agricultural technology engineers study?
Ans.Agricultural Engineering is the area of engineering concerned with the design, construction and improvement of farming equipment and machinery. Agricultural technology engineers integrate technology with farming. For example, they design new and improved farming equipment that may work more efficiently, or perform new tasks.
Que. What is the job market of agriculture industry?
Ans.Expect the strongest job market for plant scientists, food scientists, sustainable biomaterials specialists, water resources scientists and engineers, precision agriculture specialists, and farm-animal veterinarians.
Que. What is the salary of an agricultural technician in India?
Ans.The average salary for an Agricultural Technician is Rs 4,12,000 per year in India according to Glassdoor. The salary might vary depending on the various job factors such as the experience and skills of the candidates, and location of the company.
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There are 7,500 varieties of apple grown around the world. If you tried a new variety each day, it would take you 20 years to try every kind.
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Individuals, family partnerships, and family corporations operate about 99% of U.S farms.
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